Winder Archives

The Piedmont Regional Library is requesting additional funding from the City of Winder in order to make payroll for the remainder of the fiscal year.

During a meeting held Monday, council reviewed a request from Beth McIntyre, Regional Director of the Piedmont Regional Library System, for an additional $20,000.

In a letter submitted to the city, McIntyre wrote, “At the city funding rate of $130,000 per year, the Winder Library is unable to meet the payroll and submit its regional fees. We have an immediate and pressing need for $20,000 for the remainder of the fiscal year. Our material budget has been hit hard by the lack of funding from the city.”
[Full Story »]

The FY2014 was good for the City of Winder as it saw revenues increase by $4.1 million from the year before.
Overall, the city increased its reserves by over $860,000 in the last year, according to the town’s recently released audit.
Although its cost of health insurance went up, the town’s overall personnel costs came in under budget by over $900,000 with salaries falling by $82,000 from the year before.
For the full story, see the Feb. 4th issue of the Barrow Journal.

The theme for this year’s Winder Christmas parade is “Christmas Around the World.” The parade is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 6, from 4 to 6 p.m. The fee is $40 for the first two vehicles and $15 for each additional vehicle. Each participant is asked to bring a canned good or a new, unwrapped toy as a community service effort. Collection bins will be located in the staging area at the end of the parade route. Cans and toys can also be dropped off at Winder City Hall.

The Irie Island Café Sport Lounge, located at 243 N. Broad Street, will be re-opening soon, but beer and wine sales will no longer be permitted.

Business operator Andre Moncrieffe has been cited with allowing alcohol purchased elsewhere on the premises, selling liquor without a license, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and general regulation violations stemming from a Nov. 8 incident at the restaurant.

According to evidence provided by Moncrieffe at a special hearing of the Winder City Council on Nov. 20, the restaurant was leased to individuals for a party.

The Winder Police Department was made aware of the planned event through a flyer advertising the party. [Full Story »]

City of Winder utility customers have until May 2015 to prepare for an increase in their water bills.
At a meeting held last week, the Winder City Council approved the changes, but agreed to delay implementation of the new rates until next year.
The changes came about following a rate study conducted by Nelsnick Enterprises, Inc. According to the report, in order to meet operating costs, debt payments and provide a revenue level sufficient to support capital improvement programs, a 10 percent revenue increase will be required, followed by an increase of six percent in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and three percent in 2019 and 2020.
For the full story, see the Nov. 12 issue of the Barrow Journal.

Larry Evans dedicated his life to running Evans Jewel Box. When the Winder store closes in the next few months, Evans says that he’ll miss the people the most.
“I’ve been really blessed in this business,” said Evans. “I’ve gotten to know a lot of really good people and that’s the one thing I’m really going to miss the most...the people.”
Evans’ uncle, W.O. Evans, opened the store in 1956, naming it The Jewel Box.
Evans began working at the store when he was 20 years old and worked as a jewelry and watch repairman, floor salesman, bookkeeper and engraver.
For the full story, see the Nov. 12 issue of the Barrow Journal.

It’s official. Winder has the best tasting water in the state.
At a council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 9, Kelly Comstock, chairman of the Georgia Section of American Water Works Association, announced Winder was recently awarded the People’s Choice Award for Best Tasting Tap Water in Georgia.
The award was presented at the annual Georgia Association of Water Professionals conference held in Savannah in July.
According to Utilities Director Roger Wilhelm, water systems from across the state submit samples of tap water from their respective systems. Water professionals in attendance at the annual conference (approximately 1,400 from the southeast) blind sample the different water and vote for their favorite.

“Garish” and “obtrusive” were some of the words used by Charisse Lackey to describe new blue signs placed at the historic Rose Hill Cemetery in Winder.
On behalf of several citizens present at a meeting of the Winder mayor and city council Monday night, Lackey registered complaints regarding the new signs.
“The collective concerns of the citizens over these markers are that they are much too tall, the white posts are very conspicuous and the bright blue signs are garish,” said Lackey. “In addition to the offensive signs, some of them in some sections have been marked incorrectly.”

Winder’s mayor and city council are considering the benefits of hiring a grant writer.
At a work session held Monday, Aug. 4, councilman Bob Dixon recommended council consider hiring a person or company to write grants on behalf of the city. Dixon said there are grants available that the city may be missing out on.
“There are so many grants out there,” he said, “and we have not obtained our fair share.”
Councilman Ridley Parrish, returning after an extended absence due to health issues, agreed.
“Grant writers are hard to come by, I think a good grant writer would do us well,” said Parrish.
Dixon said it may be possible to find someone willing to write grants under an agreement to be paid only if the grants are approved.
City staff has met with a couple of grant writing companies and will follow-up on those contacts and report back later.
For the full Winder story, see the Aug. 6 issue of the Barrow Journal.